This invention pertains to aqueous inkjet inks, more specifically to pigmented inkjet inks containing one or more crosslinked polyurethane dispersoid binders produced from specific diols. These binders are particularly suitable for use in textile printing inks. These inks are advantageous because printed textiles made with these inks have improved washfastness and colorfastness. These binders also have improved hydrolytic stability and consequently inks utilizing these binders have improved storage stability.
Suitable digital printing systems for textiles are disclosed in the art, for example, in commonly owned US20030128246 and US20030160851. Even as inkjet hardware improvements are made to increase printing speeds, adoption of inkjet printing in the textile industry will be impeded if methods to also improve colorfastness are not found.
A disadvantage of inkjet printing, in particular inkjet printing with pigmented ink, is inkjet printed fabrics are particularly susceptible to color removal by abrasion and thus have poor durability. Furthermore, another disadvantage of inkjet printing, in particular inkjet printing with pigmented ink, is that inkjet printed fabrics do not tolerate washing conditions required for textiles. The printed colors both fade upon washing and during the wash the colors can be undesirably transferred to other fabrics in the wash or to the washing machine parts. Furthermore, inks made for commercial consumption must withstand extended periods of storage conditions. The inks cannot degrade either in ink properties or the properties of the resultant print.
Therefore, there is need for improved ink stability, as well as improved durability of inkjet images on textile, especially in cases where the colorant is pigment. It is thus an object of this invention to provide inkjet inks with improved storage stability and inkjet printed textiles with improved durability and colorfastness especially as a result of laundering.